Alpine Gamble by Mary Daheim Read Free Book Online Page B

“Goodness, no! Whoever wrote that sounds …
sincere.”
    “I haven't told my girls,” Vida murmured, referring to her three married daughters, only one of whom lived in Alpine. “I should, though. They've been nagging me for years to … to find a companion.” Before I could comment, Vida gave me a withering stare. “I chose the word carefully. That's precisely what I mean. It would be pleasant to have a man around for social occasions, even trips to Seattle for the ballet or symphony.”
    While I knew Vida enjoyed classical music, she had never attended any Big City cultural events since I'd known her. But maybe that was because she felt the need for a male escort. In many ways, Vida was very old-fashioned.
    I remained openly sympathetic. “Ginny has set up a special box at die post office,” I noted, though Vida was aware of the fact. “She'll be checking it every day, except Saturdays.”
    Vida shrugged. “I can wait until Monday.”
    “Why didn't you just give your letter to Ginny?” I asked, and then realized the answer before I could retrieve the question.
    Vida had turned very severe. “Do you think I want everybody and his brother to know? Ginny would tell Carla who would tell Leo who would tell the whole town. Really, Emma, this is a very private matter.”
    Of course it was. I allowed as much. Vida retaliated by invading my privacy:
    “What have you heard from Tommy?”
    Nobody but Vida referred to Tom Cavanaugh as
Tommy.
The great love of my life and the father of my son was finally getting a divorce. I had confided only in Vida—and Ben, of course—that Tom's mentally unbalanced wife, Sandra, had left him. Given Sandra's erratic, even criminal, behavior over a quarter of a century, Tom had far more provocation to call it quits. But Tom also had an enormous sense of responsibility, as well as a few tons of guilt. Thus, when Sandra fell for Zorro, a stand-up comedian half her age, she was the one who had decided to end the marriage.
    “I spoke with Tom Saturday morning,” I answered carefully. “It's getting complicated. Sandra's been living with Zorro in a cabin near Big Sur, but suddenly she's decided she wants the house in San Francisco. She says it's impracticable for Zorro to be so far away from the city, because of his comedy gigs. He's also, I gather, too far from his drug supplier.”
    “Oh, dear.” Vida took off her hat and fanned herself, despite the cool, rainy weather. “Sandra wants the house as well as half of Tom's newspaper holdings? My my—that doesn't seem fair, given the circumstances.”
    Maybe not, though it was Sandra's inherited money that had given Tom the stake in building his empire of weeklies throughout the West. For the first time in my life I grudgingly allowed a point scored for Sandra Cavanaugh. As for the house, it didn't seem to me that either would want it. Sandra and Tom's two children were in college, and while I'd never seen the place, I'dgathered it was of mansion proportions. Perhaps Zorro wanted some room for his horse. The double entendre made me smile.
    “What is it?” Vida demanded. “How on earth can you find Tommy's problems funny?”
    “I don't,” I readily admitted. “I was thinking about Zorro.”
    “Well, don't. He's not worth the mental effort. Nor is Sandra.” Vida radiated disapproval, though she had never met Sandra and knew Tom only from his brief visit to Alpine three years earlier. “When are you going to tell Adam?”
    Nervously, I ruffled my shaggy hair with both hands. “When he gets here,” I said, without much confidence. “It will be better to have Ben with us.”
    “Oh, good grief!” Vida rolled her eyes. “Since when did you require moral support? Hasn't your whole life been lived as though you didn't need Tommy or anyone else?”
    Vida's comment stung. It was true. Having discovered that the man I loved had gotten both his wife and me pregnant at about the same time, I'd spurned Tom's offers of help. I'd kept him